


The Weekend

by ArsonEmbre



Series: Senior Year [7]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Boys Being Boys, Friendship, Gen, When they figure it out, Wrestling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25013941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArsonEmbre/pseuds/ArsonEmbre
Summary: This video game might suck, but Roxas doesn’t.
Relationships: Hayner/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Senior Year [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1484090
Comments: 8
Kudos: 17





	The Weekend

Sometimes words aren’t necessary. Sometimes, the only thing that’s required for them to have a nice time is the rapid clicking of the buttons on their respective controllers, and the occasional grunt of frustration and sigh of relief. Hayner knows that he’s no good at this game. Never has been, actually. In his opinion, the graphics are several years behind what modern technology is capable of creating, the game has too many glitches, lags terribly, and literally everything winds up being some kind of stupid puzzle.

And yet, he keeps replaying it.

If it wasn’t for the fact that, for some ungodly reason, this is Roxas’ favorite game, he wouldn’t even bother to touch it. It sucked, but it didn’t suck to go through it with Roxas.

“I love this part,” Roxas mumbles to himself as he rests his controller in his lap and sits forward as the cutscene plays. They’re currently sitting on the floor in front of the tv in Hayner’s living room. Though Hayner finds the plot lacking, he’ll admit that this is his favorite part of the game. They must have played through this a million times, and Roxas himself must have played it a million more on his own, but this part always seems to fascinate him. The main protagonist finally learns the truth about her past, and is faced with the options of going back home with the person who has brutally betrayed her trust, or to go off on her own and make a better life for herself. In the end, she chooses to return home, but only on the condition that her former caretaker never speaks to her again.

Roxas once called it “brutally honest storytelling.” He went on this long tangent about how a person can make as many or as little mistakes as they choose, big or small, and yet the person hurt by those mistakes isn't obligated to forgive. They both agree that what had been done in this game was absolutely unforgivable, and yet agreed that they both looked forward to some sort of resolution between the two characters.

_ That’s why I love this game so much, _ Roxas had said once.  _ Nothing is all black or all white. You have gray characters in a messed up world just trying to live. You can feel bad for them while still holding them accountable, and the story never tries to paint what happens as good or bad. They’re just things that happen. _ ”

His explanation hadn’t been enough to make Hayner like the game, but it did get him thinking. What if he applied that to real life? Started seeing people as gray instead of evil or unproblematic? After a few seconds of thinking, he decided that that wouldn’t work. There was no way he could see people like  _ Seifer  _ as gray. The dude was a pain in the ass, and that was the beginning and the end of it.

Instead of watching the scene, Hayner’s eyes are drawn to Roxas. His eyes are focused on the screen, sparkling in a way that lets him know that Roxas is enjoying himself. He smiles, reaching back to prop his elbow on the foot of the couch and lean his head against his hand. He listens to the scene play and watches as Roxas’ expression goes through the usual motions: surprise, anger, hurt, sympathetic, and then finally, exhaustion. This scene takes so much of his energy every time he watches it. Roxas leans back against the bed when it’s done, heaving a tired sigh as he reaches up to rub his eyes. He presses paste without even looking.

“Why do you keep doing this to yourself?” Hayner asks, though he already knows the answer.

Roxas lets out a groan as he slides forward, dropping his head against the couch cushion. His eyes squeeze shut. “It hurts so  _ good _ . I can’t stand to see her cry but this... _ scene  _ is written so well!”

Hayner slips up and says, “That’s true.”

Suddenly, Roxas isn’t so tired. His eyes pop open faster than Hayner’s ever seen before. At the sight of his friend’s growing grin, he immediately regrets letting the words leave his mouth.

“Did you just admit to liking this game?” Roxas asks. 

“Now wait a minute.” Roxas is already shifting his body toward him, mimicking his current position. “I sort of implied that this scene was good. I didn’t say anything about the rest of the game being any good.”

The shorter blond pulls a face. “Then why do you keep playing? Huh?”

“Cause you force me!” Hayner lies dramatically. He knows it’s a lie because Roxas has never once begged or forced him to pick up the second controller. It was a conscious decision he repeatedly made all on his own because...spending time with Roxas was nice. It didn’t matter what they were doing, he just wanted to be around him, to share the things that they like with one another. And after the week he’s had, Hayner needed a distraction. He couldn’t be hurt over Olette if he was complaining about a video game. 

Pence once jokingly called his brain a slot machine, saying that only three things could occupy space in his head at a time.  _ I wonder if you even remember that…  _ Today, it’s this abomination of a game, Roxas, and the homework packet sitting untouched in his bedroom that he swears he’ll get to after Roxas leaves.

“I do not! I was gonna play this by myself and you picked up the second controller and started talking about how I would struggle playing it with you.”

Hayner detaches his head from his hand and turns his palm up toward the ceiling. And I was right. You’re doing well because of me. I’m doing my best bud a favor.”

Roxas rolls his eyes with a knowing smile. “Sure, Jan.”

“I’m serious! How much better are you doing now compared to when you play by yourself?” he asks, gesturing towards the paused game.

“I mean I’m already so good at the game that I could run through it blindfolded and not die a single time soooo…” His eyes turn toward the ceiling, and he smiles before returning them to Hayner. “Only slightly.”

Hayner perks up. “Well, there ya go! You’re slightly better at the game because of me. I’ve done my part.”

Roxas laughs and shakes his head. “One day I’ll get you to admit that you like this game.”

And just like that, Hayner’s frowning again. “Maybe I just like  _ you _ . You ever think of that?”

There’s a moment that passes between them where something completely new to Hayner flashes in Roxas’ eyes. His head jerks back the slightest bit, and his lips twitch. All this happens before a solid thought can settle in his mind, and the next second he’s watching Roxas laugh it off. 

“You…”

He briefly wonders if what he saw was even real. He decides not to question it.

With nothing better to say or do, Hayner flashes his friend a toothy smile. “Me.”

Roxas grabs his controller and pretends to throw it at Hayner’s face. Hayner knows that he won’t actually let it hit him, but his body doesn’t. His hand shoots out to capture Roxas’ wrist and turns his arm until it slips from his grip. The other boy let’s out a pained yelp, and he immediately releases him. “Shit, did I hurt you? I’m so—”

The last thing Hayner remembers before the wrestling starts is having Roxas’ palm in his face. The details are fuzzy, but a fight—if you can even call it that—breaks out. The untouched homework is quickly replaced by the desire to pin his friend and force an apology out of him. Two, actually: one for starting a fight and one for scaring him by making him think he’d hurt him. Unfortunately, it’s hard to fight when he’s laughing so hard that his sides hurt, that he can’t see past his tears as they slide down the sides of his face. Roxas is winning and he hates it. And he loves it.

Soon, he’s trapped beneath Roxas with his arms held against his own chest, and he can’t tell Roxas to get off of him because he can’t breathe through his laughter.

“Consider this payback for putting me in a headlock the other day.”

Hayner’s still laughing, but manages to choke out half of a threat.

“Admit that you like the game and I’ll get off,” he says. Roxas is smiling, but he’s also dead serious.

“You want me to lie?!”

“No, I want you to tell the truth. Say you like this game.”

Hayner takes a moment for himself in order to calm his breathing and collect his thoughts. This is why he likes hanging out with Roxas so much. He makes him forget that the rest of the world exists outside of whatever they’re talking about. His labored breath settles into something a lot more even. He can’t help but grin up at him. Today feels...peaceful. At least it does right now. “But Roxas,” he almost sings, “If I tell you that I like the game, I wouldn’t be telling you the truth. What’s that thing old people say? You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”

“It’s  _ my _ cake! I’m supposed to eat it!”

This makes the two of them laugh even harder. But again, Roxas is the one to sober up first. The mischievous look in his eye makes Hayner never want to confess— _ not that he enjoys the game _ . It’s just too much fun to get under his skin like this. “You must not wanna get up ever.”

Hayner rolls his eyes. “Fine. You want me to tell the truth?”

“Yes, please.” Roxas says this in a voice that...Hayner can’t describe how it makes him feel. It’s soft and childish, but a  _ good  _ kind of childish. Like the feeling you get when a toddler hands you a cell phone and expects you to answer it, so you take it and have an entire conversation with no one just to make them happy. Something like that, but better.

“I love playing this game with my best friend in the entire world. I hate it, but I get to listen to you tell me your theories and talk about how good the soundtrack is and...we have fun.”

The look that had been there before returns, but this time, it lingers. This time Hayner  _ knows  _ that it’s real. He wants to ask what it means, but doubts Roxas will have any idea what he’s talking about. Does he even know what his expression has turned into?

The moment passes. Roxas’ face is back to its normal playfulness. “I guess you do like me.”

“I do,” Hayner confirms with a nod.

Roxas lets go of his arms and returns to his spot in front of the couch. “You got lucky. Next time you’ll stay there until I hear you admit it.”

“Pfft! Bold of you to assume you’ll pin me a second time.”

Roxas gives him a quick once-over. “Bold of you to assume you can stop me.”

“Bold of you to assume that I  _ assume _ I can stop you.”

“Bold of you to assume at all.”

“Bold of you to exist.”

“Bold of you to even ever!”

Hayner narrows his eyes in confusion. “Rox, what?”

“I don’t know! You’re confusing me!” The smallest hint of pink touches his cheeks as he snatches his controller off of the ground and unpauses the game. Hayner notices. He wants to tease him about it, but something gives him a nudge and tells him that  _ that  _ would be too far. So he picks up his own controller and sits up.

“Don’t think too much on a weekend. You’ll hurt yourself,” Hayner chuckles, bumping his shoulder against the other boy’s.

Roxas looks at him out of the corner of his eye. “Okay,  _ slot machine _ .”

Hayner smirks to himself as he turns his attention back to the television. He didn’t think  _ Roxas _ remembered that.

“Okay, sidekick.”


End file.
